With a wealth of experience in the hospitality sector, Martin and Joanne Slater understand first-hand how effective signage is for a business when trying to attract new customers. When they saw that the FASTSIGNS Sheffield Centre came up for sale, this Husband and Wife team saw the endless possibilities for signage businesses and jumped at the chance of ownership.
The Sheffield centre has been at the heart of the FASTSIGNS franchise network for close to 30 years, under the previous father and son ownership team, Garth and Paul Allison, who are both entering their retirement with the sale of the centre to Martin and Joanne. To help ensure a smooth transition, Paul will remain in the centre into the early summer to wrap up ongoing customer projects and help Martin and Joanne begin their business ownership on an optimum footing.
Having previously managed eateries such as a McDonald's franchise, an independent Sheffield-based business, Totley Deli and the hospitality at Abbeydale Sports Club, Martin brings a wealth of skills such as operations delivery, people management, marketing and relationship building which put him in a great position to step into the FASTSIGNS Sheffield centre and take it forwards. Before taking on the ownership of the centre in early April 2024, Martin attended FASTSIGNS intensive training course in Dallas, Texas where he learned about signage as well as FASTSIGNS operating processes and procedures.
Joanne spent 33 years in the accounts department of Sheffield-based Bradley Refrigeration. More recently she was employed in an administrative role at Sheffield Children’s Hospital where she has also done voluntary work.
On their new venture, Martin comments, “Having worked in management roles for much of my career, I’m excited to be taking the step into business ownership. Both Joanne and I see huge potential in signage and the fact that FASTSIGNS Sheffield already has thirty years in business, it shows how robust the industry is. We can’t wait to get started.”
The Sheffield Centre retains its sign-making expertise through its team members Graphic Designer, Jonny Oates and Production Specialist, Jason Wilby who have been with the centre for 7 and 6 years, respectively.
As this new chapter for the Sheffield Centre begins with the new ownership team, Martin and Joanne are excited to put their stamp on the centre as the custodians of the centre for its next 30 years in business!